


Chasing You

by orphan_account



Series: Back Down That Road [1]
Category: Achievement Hunter
Genre: Angst, Denial, Feelings, Fluff, M/M, Michael's a fucking moron, Sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-03
Updated: 2013-08-03
Packaged: 2017-12-22 07:19:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/910454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“What do you do when the person you love most in the universe runs away?”'</p><p>Ray smiled.</p><p>“That’s easy. You chase them.”</p><p>Done for anon prompt: "I want a fic where Gavin runs away cuz Michael does something stupid and while Gav's away, Michael realizes he's in love with him. Bonus points for over-protective Geoff."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chasing You

**Author's Note:**

> Rated such because of strong language. I promised myself I would never write Mavin...I broke that promise. This may feel a little bit out of character but I figured if this situation really ever came about, the guys could put aside the joking for a while.

Michael never really thought about it, not really anyway. It was an idea that danced on the edges of his conscious but never really slid home. He never really payed attention because he never thought he needed to. He thought he had all the time in the world. Sometimes, when it got quiet enough to think, he would dwell on it and let himself worry over it. But, it never seemed possible. It was a joke, a game, something that was never really going to happen. Until it did.

 **Gavin’s gone**.

The text was straightforward, because Geoff had never been one to beat around the bush. But Michael still had to read it multiple times for it to really make sense.

**What do you mean, gone?**

Michael was out of bed and getting ready before he got a reply and was rushing out the door when his phone finally buzzed.

**What the fuck do you think I mean?**

Michael sighed because, yeah, it was a stupid question. His first thought was to call Ray, because he would know something, right? Ray knew a lot of things, especially when it came to Gavin. He was Gavin’s Michael-away-from-Michael. He told Ray everything, even things Michael didn’t know because they were about him. But he couldn’t call Ray because the lump forming in his throat made it really hard to talk. So he just drove to the office like it was any other day.

“Where the fuck is he?” Geoff asked and Michael found himself pinned to the back of the door he had just closed. The rest of Achievement Hunter guys were sitting around with their phones out, no doubt trying to get ahold of their missing friend.

“Woah!” Michael said, gently trying to pry Geoff’s hands away from his throat; the fucker wouldn’t budge. But he wasn’t applying pressure, letting Michael know that it was just a threat.

“How the fuck am I supposed to know?” Michael spat angrily which caused Geoff to flex his fingers around his neck. Michael tensed, and he stopped trying to struggle against the hold.

“Well, he’s your fucking boy toy, isn’t he?” Geoff spat back just as venomously. That was a low blow and Geoff knew it. Reluctantly, he released his friend. “I’m sorry, dude.”

“No problem,” Michael lied, because it was definitely a huge problem. He woke up that morning thinking everything was fine and when his best friend went missing, Geoff thought that Michael was a logical first choice to put blame on? There was a world of fucking _problem_ in that situation.

“Did he say anything to you, Geoff?” Ryan asked from the couch. “No, but some of his shit was missing, like he’s planning on being away for a while.” Geoff let out a long-suffering sigh and sat down heavily in his chair.

Michael gave him a sympathetic look but Geoff just glared at him. He tried to find a way to explain to Geoff that he had no idea where Gavin was or why he would leave better than anyone in the office. But the words caught in his throat because, yeah, Gavin had teased him for months about leaving, saying that if Michael didn’t make his mark, then Gavin wouldn’t wait for him. But that had all been a joke. It was all in good fun. Wasn’t it?

Michael looked back to Geoff for some sympathy but Geoff was still glaring at him.

That’s when it him. They _did_ blame Michael for this.

_What the ever-loving FUCK?_

Just because he and Gavin were somewhat, sorta kinda, might be a little bit involved didn’t mean that Michael was his fucking keeper. If the stupid prick decided to duck out on them out of the fucking blue, how was that Michael’s fault?

“Am I missing something?” He finally asked, genuinely confused and worried.

“Michael,” Geoff said in a hard voice.“If you were anyone else, I would _fucking_ disembowel you right now.”

Oh yeah, he was _definitely_ missing something.

“Did I pass out or something? Because I’m pretty sure I missed the first half of this argument.” This earned him a glare, not just from Geoff, but from everyone in the room. “Seriously guys, what the fuck is going on?”

“You’re a fucking tool, that’s what,” Ray hissed. Michael was completely floored. What the _HELL_ had he done?

“Can someone please explain to me why you all look like you’re about ready to murder me?”

“Guys,” Jack spoke for the first time, “be reasonable, Michael obviously doesn’t know what’s going on. Plus, no matter what, if he knew where Gavin was he would tell us. Right Michael?”

Jack looked at him as if Michael saying anything but, “yes” was actually an option.

“What?” He asked incredulously. “Guys! Of course I would tell you! What the fuck is going on? What did I do?”

“It’s more a question of what you didn’t do,” Ryan said from the couch. He handed Michael a small yellow piece of paper that looked like it had been crumpled and uncrumpled several thousand times. It was hard to make out the writing, but Michael managed.

_Mogar,_

_Sorry I couldn’t be enough for you. I’m leaving for a while to figure some stuff out. Maybe you’ll actually be happy with me gone._

_Gav_.

“What the hell?” Michael exclaimed. What was the idiot talking about?

“You’re such a dick sometimes, Michael,” Ray said. But it was spoken with pity rather than anger.

Michael just glared at him because he did not, at all, understand what was going on.

“Ray, can I talk to you somewhere private?” Michael asked, because if anyone knew anything about this, it would be Ray. He just nodded and followed Michael out the office.

They made their way to the parking lot where they leaned up against one of the cars.

“What’s going on?” Michael finally asked. Ray sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Man, are you really that fucking blind? I mean I know you need glasses but, Jesus, you miss a lot of what’s sitting right under your fucking nose.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Dude! Come on, look at what you’ve been doing with Gavin for the past few months. You flirt with him, you go to drinks with him, you fuck him, and then you act as if nothing ever happened! I suck at relationships and even I know that what you’ve got going on is dysfunctional as shit.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

There was a pause where Ray let out a shout of frustration, causing Michael to jump. The gravity of the situation settled in. Whatever Michael had done, it had seriously fucked Gavin up.

“What the fuck were you doing with Lindsay last week?” The question caught Michael off guard because what did his “thing” with Lindsay have to do with Gavin?

“When?”

“The fucking night when Gavin fucking caught you, you fucking cunt.” Michael’s eyes widened because Ray had always been foul-mouthed, but he had never sounded so angry before.

“We were just foolin’ around a little bit.”

“How?”

“What?”

“How the _fuck_ were you _just foolin’ around_?” The way Ray mimicked his voice grated on Michael’s nerves. But, right then, he was in no position to be the angry one.

“I don’t know, just making out and groping ‘n shit. You know, the standard stuff. Why?”

“Holy shit, Michael, if you were _anyone_ else I would have Geoff disembowel you right _fucking_ now.”

“Okay,” Michael finally sighed, exasperated. “I get that I’m the bad guy and that everyone and their mother seems pretty fuckin’ pissed at the very core of my being right now but can you please explain _why_?”

“I shouldn’t have to!” Ray exclaimed angrily. “You should _get it_! Why don’t you see how fucking _wrong_ it is that you and Lindsay were making out right in front of Gavin? Why can’t you put together the pieces when Gavin fucking warned you that he was going to leave?”

“That was joke! He never fukcing meant it!” And Michael did not miss the fact that he was very wrong at that moment. “Plus we didn’t make out in front of Gavin. We stopped when he got there,” Michael shot defensively, realizing too late that it was a pretty fucking lame defense. “Why does it matter anyway? Gavin’s not my boyfriend--”

“BINGO! Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! Come on up, you fucking douche and claim your shitty fucking prize!”

“Huh?”

All of a sudden, Ray was crowding Michael’s personal space which should have been less intimidating because Ray was shorter and scrawnier than him and Michael could probably throw the Puerto Rican halfway across the fucking state of Texas. But Michael had never seen Ray this angry before and it was scary, height and weight be damned.

“Why were you with Lindsay?”

“Wha--”

“Just answer the fucking question. Why the fuck were you with Lindsay that night?”

“Because she’s cute?” It was supposed to be an answer but it turned into a question as Ray’s glare hardened.

“No! Why were you with her Michael? Be fucking honest!”

“Why is it such a big fucking deal?”

“Just answer the fucking question!”

“No! Not until you tell me why it even matters!”

“BECAUSE HE FUCKING LOVES YOU!” The scream probably could have been heard from several blocks away. But no one in the office building, just a few feet away, came to check on them. The silence that followed was deafening and Michael’s head was aching badly when he finally processed what Ray had said.

“He loves you,” Ray finally said again, more quietly and sadly than before. “He loves you and now he’s gone because you were too much of a fucking pussy to commit and then you went off and fucked it all up by fooling around with some chick. And he couldn’t handle it so he handed in a month’s worth of completed work and then fucking left.”

“I’m so--”

“Don’t apologize,” Ray snapped. He sighed heavily and then gave Michael a scrutinizing look, “Can I ask you another question?”

“Uh...sure.” Michael had to hold back a derisive snort because Ray picked a helluva time to fucking gain some manners in this argument.

“Do...Do you love him back?”

“Yes.” The answer was abrupt and said without thought because Michael was so fucking confused that he could not afford more complicated thoughts.

But then, just like that, all the confusion was gone. Because he had answered the question honestly, because he had barely heard it. He loved Gavin.

He loved Gavin.

He was such a _fucking_ moron.

And then it all hit him like freight train. All his repressed feelings came crashing into him like a force of nature. He thought of everything, of stupid smiles and annoying accents, of rage quits and high pitched little squeaks. He thought about waking up next to the idiot and the smiling green eyes and fresh Saturday morning pancakes. He thought of holding hands and being an actual couple and it surprised him how much he _wanted_ that. He thought of everything that was Gavin and realized how much he fucking needed the annoying Brit in his life. What the _fuck_ had he been doing with Lindsay that night?

“I was...in denial I guess,” he finally said because Ray had yet to close his mouth from when his jaw had dropped open. “I didn’t _know_ I was in denial, because I didn’t know that I--well I knew, I just wasn’t...fuck. I just, you know, saw her and I didn’t even want her but I just wanted to prove something. I don’t fucking know, I guess I wanted to prove that I could want something besides...besides--”

“Gavin,” Ray finished for him.

“Yeah,” Michael whispered, ashamedly. It all sounded pretty fucking stupid when it was put in perspective.

“But you love him, right?”

“Yeah,” Michael said. He pictured the Brit’s stupid fucking face and felt a strange sort of warmth tickle his insides. “Yeah, I do.”

“How much?” Michael thought about this. How much did he love Gavin? It was more than just a passing fancy, that was for sure. It was...It was...

“More than anything.” It sounded like an exaggeration but as Michael thought about it, he couldn’t think of a single thing he felt more strongly about. Except, maybe, his family but that was an entirely different kind of love.

“Good.”

For a long time, the two were silent.

“So what now?” Ray asked.

“I don’t know,” Michael sighed. “What do you do when the person you love most in the universe runs away?”

Ray smiled.

“That’s easy. You chase them.”

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if I'll continue this or not. This ending feels kind of perfect. But if someone wants to write a tag-fic off of it, feel free :)


End file.
